Source: The News-Enterprise
The Hardin Memorial Health Foundation created the Adopt-A-Unit Food Donation Program last month to help support caregivers and patients during the COVID-19 outbreak, and it’s already received more than $16,000 in donations, officials say.
As of Friday, 45 donors had contributed from across the HMH service area and even Ohio, Florida, Wyoming and North Carolina. In total, those donors gave $16,860.
Among those donors was Cindy Carter, a teacher at T.K. Stone Middle School. She and her husband are investors in BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse. They donated enough pizza to feed 100 physicians at the hospital, enough to provide two shifts of the Emergency Department.
Carter said her family lives in the same neighborhood as a few physicians from the hospital. They also are friends.
“Just knowing the worry, fear and danger, we wanted to reach out and do something just to let them know that whatever is coming their way, we love and support them,” she said.
Patrick Furavach, owner of 2B Thai in Elizabethtown, donated food to HMH’s CareFirst Urgent Care Centers. He said the health care workers are working hard for the community. While many families are at home in each others’ company at this time, they’re at work on the frontline, he said.
“They have kids too. They have families too. I’m so happy to help them,” he said.
CareFirst Urgent Care Center Practice Manager Tim Baker said the support they’ve received from the community has been “phenomenal.”
“My staff is really feeling the love from the community. It’s been a very humbling experience. We don’t do it for the recognition,” he said, noting they simply want to be there for the community .
“The fact that they are reaching out. … It’s been fantastic,” he said.
As people are trying to find things to do and ways to help, Carter suggested reaching out to the Foundation.
Donors can give to the HMH Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund or Adopt-a-Unit Donation program at ourhmh.org/online-donations/.
Mary Alford can be reached at 270-505-1741 or malford@thenewsenterprise.com.
